Linton Crossover Upgrade
- Thread starter AKT
- Start date
Good question. I was not too impressed with the video personally. You are correct IMHO, every Capacitor position in the crossover needs attention, care, and thought applied.
Here is my own crossover and wiring, when it was a two way 12 dB Butterworth configuration, a few years ago.
( I run the ALTEC 515B fifteen inch full-range now, goes up to 3 kHZ. ) My 802D compression driver uses about 9.6 uF in the circuit shown, multiple film caps bypassing each other. Eliminates needing a tweeter. Hooray. Less is more.
None of the wiring polarities touch each other, to minimize capacitance interactions, and have the best possible high end. No twisting, no polarity touching the other.
Each polarity to the crossover, from tube amp is 12+12+14 AWG M22759/11 , 114 1/4 inches long, all three leads twisted per polarity ( green + green + blue colors ).
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In your multiple bypass cap scenario, is there one main cap and multiple bypass caps or all the multiple bypass caps add up to the required value ? Is there anywhere where i can read more about it? It sounds very interesting
Good question.
There is always one main cap, and the multiple film bypass caps fill in where the single cap is less than musically perfect in various music ranges.
No, there is no place you can read up on this technique, as I practice it. You can gets LOTS of what I consider to be wrong information.
This thread's post ( https://www.hifivision.com/threads/linton-crossover-upgrade.85749/page-2#post-963237 ) is a great starting point for the subject. You can PM me with questions, which I can answer privately. Some of this material is not belonging to me intellectually, so I must protect it. Look in " DIY " at my 2021 HFV " 6005 amp build " thread, there is bypassing photos shown there ( partial information ).
Here, Eduardo, is a very recent post on capacitor use I'd like you to read :
New Design, SE 6005 Directly Coupled Audio Amplifier
I have used bypass capacitors in my monoblock but have used them hapazardly for values not considering the frequency / impedance curve. TBH I am unable to decode sound quality attributes using different values and hence gave up due to budget and time constraints for film capacitor purchases...
www.hifivision.com
Have fun.
Jeff
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sounhifiman78
New Member
I have been planning a crossover upgrade for a long time. Started with a little modding and the effect is positive.
Mundorf MCap Supreme Capacitor 6.8uF 600V
PathAudio Resistor 10W 2R2
The effect encourages further modifications.
Mundorf MCap Supreme Capacitor 6.8uF 600V
PathAudio Resistor 10W 2R2
The effect encourages further modifications.
balavignesh002
Well-Known Member
Please share more review on the effects.
Also curious to know what you plan to do further..
sounhifiman78
New Member
Hi,
I have used Mundorf a couple of times now and they always keep a good level. They are good reproduction of the musical nuances with detail and depth, have good focus and dynamics. After replacing that original white something with the Supreme, the difference in sound is really noticeable.
This is my first time using PathAudio resistors and I am impressed. They illuminate the sound, do not lose details, and it seems that they do not interfere with the sound in any way. I find that they complement perfectly with the Mundorf. Before the change, the sound was sometimes sharp and tiring. The guitar solos were sometimes not very well defined. After small change, the effect is already satisfactory.
I plan to replace all the crossover components. Definitely stay with PathAudio. The high ones will feature Mundorf capacitors, midrange and woofers probably Jantzen Audio Superior or Alumen, I will see. Before, I was thinking about Audyn True Copper and Miflex but their dimensions ... someone wrote here that it is impossible to stuff several rolls of toilet paper into that box.
Due to the sizes of the elements, I will have to make a new PCB.
I will try to change everything one-to-one and see what comes out of it. After a minimum of 100h of listening modify it, if necessary.
I still have to find time for this.
I have used Mundorf a couple of times now and they always keep a good level. They are good reproduction of the musical nuances with detail and depth, have good focus and dynamics. After replacing that original white something with the Supreme, the difference in sound is really noticeable.
This is my first time using PathAudio resistors and I am impressed. They illuminate the sound, do not lose details, and it seems that they do not interfere with the sound in any way. I find that they complement perfectly with the Mundorf. Before the change, the sound was sometimes sharp and tiring. The guitar solos were sometimes not very well defined. After small change, the effect is already satisfactory.
I plan to replace all the crossover components. Definitely stay with PathAudio. The high ones will feature Mundorf capacitors, midrange and woofers probably Jantzen Audio Superior or Alumen, I will see. Before, I was thinking about Audyn True Copper and Miflex but their dimensions ... someone wrote here that it is impossible to stuff several rolls of toilet paper into that box.
Due to the sizes of the elements, I will have to make a new PCB.
I will try to change everything one-to-one and see what comes out of it. After a minimum of 100h of listening modify it, if necessary.
I still have to find time for this.
galacticmayan
New Member
Have any pictures of your current Linton crossover? Was the sound quality significantly better?
balavignesh002
Well-Known Member
I didn't do any changes yet.
Hello,
FYI, the two plastic tie wraps securing the Mundorf 6.8 uF film cap both have a negative effect on the sonics of the capacitor. Plastic tie wraps around film caps, or touching wires, adversely effects the flow of energy, causing an audible degrade to a certain degree.
Cut off those plastic tie wraps, and throw them away.
LISTEN to the 6.8 uF cap with NO tie wraps around it !!! ( It will likely be audibly superior. )
If the cap needs to be better secured to the crossover, in addition to it's leads, I would recommend clear GE Silicone 2 as a sonically neutral adhesive. Give it at least 24 hours minimum to set up.
Report back to F.M.s, when you hear the Mundorf 6.8 uF cap without the tie wraps around it, so that your listening experience benefits others.
Jeff
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joelv
New Member
Howdy!
I’m new here, and I’m about to replace R1 and C1 as well. Has anyone done so and reported back on the improvement/difference in sound?
If I understand correctly, the point of upgrading only R1 and C1 is that those two parts are particularly mediocre and that an upgrade there makes an immediate and obvious improvement with little work. I’ll give it a shot!
Meanwhile, I’ve made a recording of several songs playing through the speakers before modification. I’ll be recording an “after” for each track when this is done and I’ll share the resulting YouTube video here, assuming that the differences are audible in my recording and after YouTube does whatever it does.
Attached is a picture of my perfectly fine and unmolested crossovers next to their pristine replacement parts.
Wish me luck!
I’m new here, and I’m about to replace R1 and C1 as well. Has anyone done so and reported back on the improvement/difference in sound?
If I understand correctly, the point of upgrading only R1 and C1 is that those two parts are particularly mediocre and that an upgrade there makes an immediate and obvious improvement with little work. I’ll give it a shot!
Meanwhile, I’ve made a recording of several songs playing through the speakers before modification. I’ll be recording an “after” for each track when this is done and I’ll share the resulting YouTube video here, assuming that the differences are audible in my recording and after YouTube does whatever it does.
Attached is a picture of my perfectly fine and unmolested crossovers next to their pristine replacement parts.
Wish me luck!
Attachments
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joelv
New Member
Joe - What brand did you replace C1 with?
joelv
New Member
That’s a ~$7 Jantzen Standard Z-cap. The parts are the ones that Mike / HEADquarter Audio recommended in his YouTube video.
I liked his idea of keeping the quality level more-or-less commensurate with the rest of the existing crossover.
Those $60 Mundorf caps look great but I’m be afraid that I used those, I’d be compelled to try to max out everything on the board.
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joelv
New Member
Everything is back together, recordings made.
A couple of notes:
There was a 2-3dB level discrepancy between the speakers originally, which has been reduced to approximately 1-2db.
The sound is different. Has it improved? Well… I may want to let them play for awhile before making any judgements.. do capacitors and resistors need to burn-in?
A couple of notes:
There was a 2-3dB level discrepancy between the speakers originally, which has been reduced to approximately 1-2db.
The sound is different. Has it improved? Well… I may want to let them play for awhile before making any judgements.. do capacitors and resistors need to burn-in?
joelv
New Member
Minor update: When reinstalling the woofers, I had accidentally covered the port holes in the right speaker, resulting in a drastic reduction in quality for the whole speaker, loss of imaging, bass "slam," etc... Everything sounds more correct now, whew! Will make new "After" recordings and post them in a day or two.
joelv
New Member
As promised, here is my before and after video! It's a little crudely edited and the video consists of still shots, but the sound differences are fairly apparent.
Grab some headphones and see what you think!
Grab some headphones and see what you think!
Going by the video ..............after sounds fuller .................. have you an update after this time?
H
Thanks for posting all these updates. I am waiting for my Lintons to arrive and may well follow in your footsteps! I'll be honest and say I detect very little difference between the before and after recordings. If I detect anything it's a widening of the sound stage ever so slightly. What are you hearing actually there with the speakers?
Thanks for posting all these updates. I am waiting for my Lintons to arrive and may well follow in your footsteps! I'll be honest and say I detect very little difference between the before and after recordings. If I detect anything it's a widening of the sound stage ever so slightly. What are you hearing actually there with the speakers?
Hello,
I just was confused when I took a look at the Caps they put in parallel. For example the 68uf/50V with the 18uF/250V.
Do you know why they do this? And can I replace those two by a higher quality cap with the value of the sum of those two?
I just was confused when I took a look at the Caps they put in parallel. For example the 68uf/50V with the 18uF/250V.
Do you know why they do this? And can I replace those two by a higher quality cap with the value of the sum of those two?
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